Merzbow – Hard Lovin’ Man

On his Anoema Recordings debut release Hard Lovin’ Man (nocd 010), mercurial Tokyo based sound artist Masami Akita (aka Merzbow) steps into the territory of hard rock. After several crusades into the history of popular music, this release finds Merzbow digging deep into the very essence of roaring guitars and pummelling rhythms with his laptop. On two versions of the title track Akita-san dissects the Deep Purple classic of the same title into its basic elements, reanimating it as a thick, swarming digi-drone. The colossal opening track was recorded live in Helsinki at the Avanto Festival 2000. The live recording appears on this release in its entirety with only minimal post-production tricks applied. It evolves slowly yet firmly, becoming an unstoppable noise vehicle that is cruising towards sensory deprivation, following Merzbow’s tapping foot (as witnessed at the concert). The other take, that was summoned at the private Bed Room studio, brings forth a shorter and more swiftly moving interpretation of the same source material. While the visceral live energy is partly substituted by more subtle and determined construction, the all-encompassing flow stays intact. In his relentless pursue to exceed the limit of 1000 (one thousand) releases in his lifetime Akita-san has already left many landmarks to the history of noise. With Hard Lovin’ Man Merzbow and Anoema Recordings are carving yet other groove in rock.